


Firebird

by luciemalfoysdaughter



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 16:43:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17328710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luciemalfoysdaughter/pseuds/luciemalfoysdaughter
Summary: Ayana has always kept her head down and worked hard, aware that there is something strange about her, but managing to suppress it; until the Chitauri threaten the school her dead uncle payed for, she ends up fighting alongside Captain America and the Black Widow. Two weeks later, two superheroes and a spy show up at her door. "Kid, I'm here to talk about the Avengers Initiative." AU/OC l Warnings: violence & swearing[originally posted on fanfic.net then wattpad]





	1. Chapter 1

Steve Rogers grunted and hung onto the support beam above him as the ship landed with a crash. He slammed the open button making the ramp lower into the wrecked ground, grabbed his shield, and charged out, Romanoff and Barton behind him.

Dust was already filling the air, rubble covering the ground, cars crashed, and sirens wailing. Steve glanced around, trying to gauge which direction the threat was coming from and quickly zeroed in—a wide intersection was apparently the best place for alien spaceships to fly at high speeds. He could see the Stark tower from here, explosions filling the air around it.

"We gotta get back up there!" He yelled back at Romanoff and Barton.

They sprinted through the chaos, around street corners, before drawing to a halt in front of a museum that blocked Stark tower from them. Slowly, Steve looked up and saw what seemed to be a hole in the sky, with aliens pouring through. Following its smaller counterparts, a huge, eel-like ship swam through the sky, straight towards them. It dipped low, knocking the head off the beautiful statue topping the museum.

"Stark," he called into him com, "You seeing this?"

"Seeing, still working on believing." Came Stark's voice. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve muttered, confused.

"Just keep me posted." Stark said shortly.

Steve dodged around a car and knelt down beside his two companions, who had taken cover behind a yellow cab.

Barton indicated a the street below the overpass they were on with his head. "We've got civilians trapped down here."

"Loki." Steve growled in response.

He squinted at the ship driven by the crazed god. It was blasting everything in its path, cars, shops, and most importantly, people. "They're fish in a barrel down there!"

A shot shattered the windshield of the cab next to his head, and he ducked as Romanoff stood and shot something out of his range of vision. Barton ducked across to an over turned cab, reaching for his arrows. Two aliens landed on a nearby car, effectively smashing it.

"We've got this." Romanoff told him fiercely. "It's good—go."

Steve looked across at Barton. "You think you can hold them off?"

"Captain," he said with humor, switching his arrows around, "it would be my genuine pleasure."

The man stood and shot over the top of the car, giving Steve a moment of cover. He could hear Romanoff shooting as well, as he sprinted for the edge of the overpass, hurtled the fencing, and landed in a roll on a stationary bus. A series of explosions followed him as he ran along the roof of the bus, finally catapulting himself off it as the whole thing exploded. Running full out down the ruined street, jumping over cars, dodging bullets and explosions, Steve couldn't help but think of a particular mission in the north of France when he'd missed the extraction and had to fight his way out of the small city. He forced those memories out of his mind and headed for what looked like a police barricade.

Landing on one of the police cars, he instructed the officers who looked to be high-ranking, "You need men in these buildings-" he pointed at three office buildings around them, "there are people inside who will be running straight into the line of fire. You take them to the basements, or the subway. You keep them off the streets!" He hesitated for a moment, mentally mapping the city. "And I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" demanded the chief.

Two shots went off, and an explosion sounded from the corner of the block. Steve spun around, standing up with his shield held at the ready. One of the Chitauri came flying at him, but he knocked it back easily, then turned to face another one to block a laser, before pushing it back and punching it away. He spun, knocking a head off, then tearing off and arm and kicking it into a building.

Breathing slightly, he looked at the policemen expectantly, who promptly turned and relayed his orders.

With a growl, he jumped off the car and dashed down an alley towards another street. He looked around, and started to listen to the chatter on his com. The street seemed, for a moment, to be deserted, with only a smoldering pile-up of cars at the far end of the street. The unearthly sound of alien engines drew his attention to the opposite end of the street, and from there, his gaze fell on a lone figure standing defiantly in the middle of the street, facing three of the smaller spacecrafts. Steve reacted immediately—he sprinted towards them and took a flying leap, knocking them into another alley. The aliens shot past.

"What the hell-" began the person, who was pinned underneath him. "...Captain America?"

It was a girl, no older than seventeen, with startlingly light eyes compared to her skin tone.

"Stay there!" He said, and turned back into the street to knock a ship out of the sky with his shield; it landed with a screeching crash on the pavement. The other two ships continued on, seemingly uncaring of this ship's fate.

Steve started as the sound of a series of explosions made its way up the street and he saw a huge herd of Chitauri on foot, charging towards him.

He was startled to find that the girl was standing resolutely next to him. "Get _back _!" He told her sharply.__

__"That's my goddam school there-" she indicated with her chin at the older building across from them, "my uncle worked himself to death to pay me in there. I'm not letting it get blown up—I can help!"_ _

__With a growl, Steve shoved her back towards the alley, saying, "I'll take care of it."_ _

__He ran at the Chitauri and began to fight, dodging blasts from their guns and swings from their arms. Stepping down on one's foot, he shoved it into the air, ripping it limb from body. He kicked the leg into his hand and swung it like a bat, taking off two heads, before jumping over a Chitauri that dove at him and using its head to spin and kick three others away._ _

__A blast of purple fire from somewhere behind him hit the metal armor of a nearby Chitauri that had been making to shoot him, and knocked it back, frying its head. Steve glanced back in the direction the blast had come from, expecting to see one of Stark's devices, and instead seeing the girl, standing with her feet planted and eyes blazing._ _

__"What the hell are you doing?" He bellowed as he twisted the gun out of the hands of an alien and shot it._ _

__"Helping!" She yelled back._ _

__He looked at her again, glanced away to block a punch, and looked back in awe once it registered that her hands seemed to be alive with the same purple flames. The girl drew back a burning hand as three of the creatures charged her and threw another purple blast, then another. One of them was thrown back while the other two were reduced to smoldering rubble._ _

__"Okay…" Steve muttered to himself as he grabbed a Chitauri by the arm and swung it around, bludgeoning the heads of all his nearby attackers off, and forcing himself to acknowledge that there was a girl with fire coming from her hands behind him._ _

__Tapping his com, he said as calmly as he could, "Hey guys… There's a kid that can throw fire over here. Is that normal?"_ _

__There was silence for a moment before Stark said, "About as common as an alien invasion." at the same Barton said, "Why would be normal?!"_ _

__"I don't know!" Steve snapped, stealing another gun and obliterating a handful of aliens, watching out of the corner of his eye as the girl blasted another group of armored aliens into rubble. "There's aliens invading New York—I don't know what's normal right now!"_ _

__"Well," said Romanoff's smooth voice, followed by a series of gunshots, "is whoever it is fighting for or against us?"_ _

__"She's blasting aliens to pieces—I thought it was Stark at first." Steve let out a sharp exhale as an alien managed to press him into the brick wall of a building, knocking his shield from his hand._ _

__"Concentrate on the aliens that are currently streaming through a hole in the sky then!" came Stark's snarky voice._ _

__There was a crashing noise, a wave of blinding heat, and Steve was able to slip from the Chitauri's grip. As he dove into yet another barrage of aliens he noted that it too collapsed into a heap of smoking remains._ _

__He did a somersault under the blasts of many guns, snatched his shield back up and threw it with a spin so that it made a neat arch in front of him, cutting a handful of Chitauri in half at the waist._ _

__A whooshing sound of displaced air announced the arrival of another ship—just as he raised his shield, it began to rain bullets down on him, and to his horror, the fire girl. But, instead of looking scared, her face was screwed up in rage, her wild curly hair seemed to crackle with energy, and the purple flames now reached her elbows, burning off her sleeves while leaving her skin unharmed._ _

__" _Not—my—goddamn—school _!" She bellowed, punctuating each word with a blast of flame at the ship.___ _

____First the right, then the left engines exploded, and the ship tilted down, screeching horribly down the middle of the street. Steve, still in shock, casually stepped onto the sidewalk to avoid the crash._ _ _ _

____For a moment, the only noises were the distant crashes and bangs of the attack closer to Stark tower, the settling of alien metal, and the ragged panting breaths of the girl._ _ _ _

____"Holy shit." Said Steve, forgetting that he was talking to a kid._ _ _ _

____The fire faded from her arms and she seemed to deflate. "I… I _did _that." She muttered, looking down at her hands.___ _ _ _

______With a tentative step forward, Steve said, "Can you do it again?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______She looked up at him, and he was once again struck by how light her eyes were, even from across the street._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I don't know." She said earnestly._ _ _ _ _ _

______"If you can," Steve glanced back at the now visibly damaged Stark tower, "you can protect more than just your school."_ _ _ _ _ _

______There was a rumbling noise, and another of the huge, eel-like ships swam through the portal. They both looked up at it in horror and awe._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hell…" he heard her say. "I'll try."_ _ _ _ _ _

______He tapped his com and listened to the conversation for a minute before saying, "This way."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Jogging towards the main fight with the girl running full out to keep up, Steve battled with his conscious; everything told him to make her stay back—she was a child, a girl—but then again that hadn't stopped Peggy, had it? They needed all the help they could get, and it wasn't as if the girl was unable to fight. Still, it grated on him that he was putting a child in such danger._ _ _ _ _ _

______He turned a corner so fast he had to grab a dented sign post to swing around. Flinging his shield and knocking away three of the aliens, he glanced back at the girl, who was still catching up. Steve nodded at her and sprinted towards Romanoff and Barton, who were still fighting outside the museum. He jumped onto a pile of rubble, then over a car and landed in time to block a strike aimed at Barton. Bashing aliens back with his shield, he looked for the girl._ _ _ _ _ _

______She was crouched behind the car he had vaulted, and now he could see the terror on her face. He roundhouse kicked one alien into another and glanced at her again. Her face was screwed up in concentration, and slowly, the purple flames were building in her palms._ _ _ _ _ _

______Just as she stood and blasted two Chitauri to bits, a bolt of lightning, seemingly from nowhere, hit three of the aliens closer to Steve. He looked up in surprise a saw a figure falling from the sky. It was Thor—he landed in a crouch, leaning against a cab for support._ _ _ _ _ _

______Steve stepped forward at once, as all the aliens in sight had been demolished._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What's the story upstairs?" He asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable." Thor replied grimly._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Thor's right," Stark said through the coms, "We've got to deal with these guys."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"How do we deal with this?" Asked Romanoff from behind him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Setting his jaw and looking around, Steve said forcefully, "As a team."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor interjected._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Yeah?" Barton said sarcastically, "Well, get in line."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Save it." Steve snapped, "Loki's gonna keep the fight focused on us, and that's what we need—without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top; he's gonna need us t-"_ _ _ _ _ _

______There was the loud sputtering of a motorcycle and Steve looked over his shoulder to see Bruce Banner navigating the broken road slowly. The man pulled to a stop and the team ran over to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______"So…" he said, gesturing around, "this all seems horrible."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Romanoff deadpanned immediately,"I've seen worse."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Banner looked at her oddly. "Sorry." Then he squinted past them and said, "I thought all the civilians would have cleared out?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______They all turned to look and saw the girl, standing awkwardly with her arms wrapped around herself._ _ _ _ _ _

______"She can help," Steve said, directing the statement at the girl and Banner equally, "If she wants."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"You are the one who throws fire?" Asked Thor._ _ _ _ _ _

______She looked down, but nodded._ _ _ _ _ _

______"What are you called, fire-thrower?"_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Ana." She said quietly._ _ _ _ _ _

______Steve nodded at her again, before tapping his com and saying, "He's here."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Banner?" Stark asked quickly._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Just like you said."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Good," Grunted Stark, "Tell him to suit up—I'm bringing the party to you."_ _ _ _ _ _

______They all looked up as Iron Man shot around the corner of a building, followed by the huge ship, crashing into the corner of the building to turn._ _ _ _ _ _

______Thor growled and gripped his hammer tightly, the girl let out a small gasp of horror, and Romanoff spoke in a deadpan, "I… I don't see how that's a party."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Dr Banner," said Steve respectfully, "now might be a good time for you to get angry."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Banner turned towards the approaching ship, which was coasting close to the ground, smashing and crushing cars, buses, and trees._ _ _ _ _ _

______"That's my secret, Captain," he said over his shoulder, "I'm always angry."_ _ _ _ _ _

______And with that, his shoulders rippled and stretched, and Banner turned into the Hulk. He took a few steps forward before driving his huge fist into the nose of the ship. The ship ground to a halt, slowly turning tail over head—it was going to fall directly onto them._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Hold on!" Stark yelled through the com._ _ _ _ _ _

______There was the familiar whistle of a missile flying through the air, and Steve saw it hit the exposed side of the ship. Romanoff crouched and covered her head, and Steve stood behind her, covering them both with his shield._ _ _ _ _ _

______The ship exploded, scattering the outer armor of the ship across the road, and sending the head flying off the overpass. Aliens that had already disembarked bellowed in rage, and the Hulk roared in response._ _ _ _ _ _

______Stark landed to Steve's left, and the team stood back-to-back, weapons at the ready._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Uh… guys…" said Romanoff._ _ _ _ _ _

______They looked back up at the portal, where one, two, three more motherships were descending from._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Call it, captain." Stark said automatically, for once willing to listen to someone else._ _ _ _ _ _

______"All right, listen up." Steve spoke slowly, thinking of a strategy. "Until we can close that portal, out priority is containment. Barton—I want you on that roof -" he indicated a tall office building, "-eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark—you've got the perimeter—anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back, or you turn it to ash."_ _ _ _ _ _

______"Can you gimme a lift?" Barton asked._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Right." Stark said carelessly, "Better clench up, Legolas."_ _ _ _ _ _

______Iron Man grabbed the back of Barton's shirt and propelled them into the air, aiming for the office building._ _ _ _ _ _

______"Thor," Steve continued, looking at the huge man, "you gotta try to bottleneck that portal—slow 'em down. You got the lightning: light the bastards up."_ _ _ _ _ _

______The god swung his hammer, then let it lift him into the air. Steve turned to Romanoff next to him, then glanced around for the girl, who had tentatively moved closer to them as the others left._ _ _ _ _ _

______"We stay here on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And Hulk…" the giant spun at his voice, growling, and he pointed up at the disembarked aliens, "... _smash _."___ _ _ _ _ _

________With a roar, the Hulk launched himself off the ground, landing on a building and obliterating aliens as her jumped around. He quickly exploded a ship, fell onto another one, and was out of sight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Another wave of Chitauri fell on them, and Steve only partially watched as a cloud gathered around the tower, and lightning struck at the ships soaring through the portal. He didn't pay much attention to the com chatter, especially as he was quite busy blasting aliens with a stolen gun._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He did notice, however, that the aliens had now decided that the girl was a worthy target, and more and more of them were surrounding her. One of the larger ones managed to get past her blasts of fire and grab her around the waist. It lifted her into the air kicking and screaming, and seemed to examine her for a minute. Just as Steve broke through the rank of aliens between them, she swung a still flaming fist underhand, into a small gap in its armor, and struggled free as the alien staggered forward. She collapsed onto her hands and knees, flames disappearing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Steve jumped over her, performing a spinning kick to the head of a Chitauri, landed, and spun his shield, sending the approaching wave flying back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Nice punch, kid." He gasped, checking to see if there was an immediate threat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She nodded, completely out of breath._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He could see her thin arms shaking, and blood was dripping from a gash in her cheek, but somehow, she struggled to her feet, swaying slightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________There was a grunt of pain from behind him, and the girl breathed, "... Help _her _!"___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Romanoff was grappling with a Chitauri, legs wrapped around its shoulders. Steve ran, jumped off a car, and threw his shield, knocking it off her, before landing and catching it again off the rebound. The woman almost speared him with the weapon she'd stolen, but recognized him just in time. She too, had blood dripping down the side if her head, and was breathing heavily._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Captain," she said seriously, "none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't take out that portal."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Steve glanced up at the hole in the sky, where ships were still streaming through. "Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Well," Romanoff looked around, eyes calculating. "maybe it's not about guns."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Steve frowned and shrugged slightly. "If you wanna get up there you're gonna need a ride."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She smirked. "I got a ride." with a shrug, she added, "Could use a boost though."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Catching her drift, Steve took a few steps back and shifted his shield on his arm. "You sure about this?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Romanoff crouched across the road from him, a set look on her face. "Yeah. It's gonna be... fun."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________And with that, she sprinted at a car, leaped off it, planted her foot on his shield, and was catapulted effortlessly into the sky, directly at a over passing Chitauri ship. She latched onto the end, and Steve couldn't help but grin a little as he saw her take out the gunner and then take control of the pilot._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The grin slipped off his face as a thin voice yelled, "Look out!" and the car next to him blew into pieces. His shield was raised instinctively, but his feet still slipped back an inch._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a gurgling roar, and he looked up to see yet another wave of Chitauri, armed with some form of blasters, crawling over cars and broken buildings. He sighed, and waited until they were at an achievable distance before launching himself into battle again. The girl was also fighting, throwing blasts that were more controlled than they had been when he'd first seen her do it, and seemed to have figured out her range. It was a situation he really hadn't expected to end out in when he woke up that morning: fighting aliens, back to back, with a teenage girl who could manipulate fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Stark swooped down, firing at the aliens around them before before landing and bouncing a laser off of Steve's shield, into a row of aliens. He shot back up into the sky with Romanoff who was (badly) piloting one of the smaller ships._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________One of the mega ships was reeling wildly as Thor and Hulk battered at the top of it, and it finally landed across the intersection from him and the girl. Distracted, Steve didn't notice a Chitauri until it was pinning him down, spear to his throat. With a pained grunt, he heaved the beast off of him and delivered an ending kick to its head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Captain," Barton called through the com, "the bank on 42nd past Madison. They cornered a lotta civilians in there."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"I'm on it." Steve panted._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He set off at a sprint, aware that the girl was struggling to keep up. Glancing over his shoulder, he called, "Captive situation—I'll go in through a window—catch up and unlock all the side doors so the people can get out!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He paused in front of the building, before taking a few steps back and taking a running leap at the second story window. Somersaulting through it, he dodged a swing from an alien, hit one with his shield, and took out one more with a well placed kick. Two aimed their guns at him, and he dove behind a heavy desk for cover._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Steve looked up to see a small square device that was making an odd humming sound and emitting a pulsing blue light. Two more blasts hit the desk, but Steve spun on his side so his back was braced against the wall and kicked the table into the two Chitauri. He was up and jumping over the desk before the remaining alien could get up. With a swift yank, he had it in a headlock, and easily chucked it over the balcony. The doors burst open directly below him, and he could only assume that the girl had managed to get past the two guards at the door._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Everyone!"he called down, "Clear out!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________An alien caught him from behind and began pulling painfully at his mask and face. The device was starting to beep rapidly, pulsing faster as his mask was ripped off. Another got up from behind the desk, blaster at the ready, and Steve just managed to flip himself up at over the alien behind him, using its body as a shield for the shots from the other one. This alien crouched and pushed the now wildly beeping device at him. There was an explosion, and Steve felt himself being flung backwards, glass shattering around him, before he smashed into a car, shield painfully under him. Groaning, he lifted his head to see that the hostages had managed to get out into the alleys on either side and take cover._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a startled shriek, a crash, and a gasp of pain—the girl had been trying to fight the aliens still inside the building, and she'd been blasted from her position in the huge marble doorway into an overturned truck. The fire of her arms went out. Steve pushed himself to a kneeling positions and slid ungracefully off the roof of the car. An alien scooped her up and pinned her to the bus—she began thrashing madly, hitting the beast wherever she could reach, but it raised her slowly by her neck, and to Steve's horror, threw her at the ground. Her head snapped back into the ground with a sickening thud, and the people in the alley screamed. Bellowing, he threw his shield, taking the alien's head off, and dashed to the girl's side._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He had to wedge his fingers under her body, as she had created a dent in the ground from the force of the alien. Picking her up, he turned to the people in the alley and looked for a face that could lead. He landed on a tall woman who looked horrified but still seemed stoic, and locked eyes with her. "Get all the people to the subway—help the children first! Everyone needs to get under cover of some sort." One of the smaller ships spiraled down into the building across the street, as if to emphasize his point._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Turning away and tapping the com, he said, "The girl's down—I don't wanna leave her with other civilians though. Where should I take her?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Honestly?" grunted Barton, "Do you need to do this right now?" - he sighed - "I'd take her to a school or a smaller building."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Yeah, okay-" Steve began, before catching sight of another two ships headed for the civilians now running down the sidewalk. "Oh fu-"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The girl groaned, and her eyelids fluttered._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Right then," he muttered to himself, running across the street. "Stay—here." he told the girl, leaning her against the dumpster in a small alley._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Looking at the tall woman who was directing the other civilians towards the subway, he yelled, "Get everyone to safety!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He jumped onto a car, then to a window sill, and hung off it. One of the alien ships soared past, and he lept onto it, knocking the gunner off and landing in one smooth motion. Remembering what Romanoff had done, he grabbed the pilot and steered the ship towards the pavement away from the civilians. As it hit the ground, he dove off, rolling to a stop and flinging his shield through the engine of the other ship. Catching his shield and making sure the second ship went down, he looked back at the civilians, some of whom had stopped to stare in awe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Go!" he yelled, brandishing his shield in the direction of the subway entrance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________With a final nod at the woman in charge, he picked his way back to the alley. The girl wasn't there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Fuck," he muttered under his breath._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a streak of blood where her head had lent against the dumpster, a pool at the bottom, and drag marks in the sodden newspapers covering the ground of the alleyway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________Well, _Steve thought, _she's alive. ______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________His com crackled. "Cap! You gotta get over here—it's -" there was an explosion near Barton, "-you really gotta get over here."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Steve looked up at the thin strip of sky between the buildings—clear blue, and filled with invading ships. He took a deep breath, looked around at the alley again, memorizing it, and took off to finish the battle._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

In the aftermath of the battle, Steve was staying at one of Stark's many houses, along with Romanoff and Stark himself, to avoid the press and to wait for S.H.I.E.L.D to clear everything up. It had taken him almost two weeks to review all of the footage from the Iron Man suit, and (with Romanoff's help) isolate the girl's face, back searching her face with ID records and the like until they had found her name. From there, it was relatively simple, but Steve still could barely believe it.

"Technology is amazing these days." he said, gazing at the huge screen, then glancing at the others in the room.

"My technology is amazing." Stark clarified, without looking away from the computer.

Romanoff snorted.

The screen they were examining was filled with pictures, forms, files, certificates, and videos, all of or about one person: Ayana Harrison, also known as the pyrokinetic girl who had managed to stay off S.H.I.E.L.D's watch list her whole life. She was an orphan —mother dead, no father listed —and lived with her great aunt in the Bronx. There was a death record for her grandfather, mother, and great uncle, along with a hospital bill for her aunt, who had broken her hip. Regardless, she looked to be a very good student, at a very good school, on a lot of financial aid and multiple scholarships. She received the free breakfast and lunch at her school, and was a regular at a homeless shelter for the evening meal. There was also a series of checks that had been brought to the bank the last year and a half, a good amount of suspicious money transaction at the auto repair shop her great uncle had owned, and two arrest records, one in the same auto repair place, and one in her house.

"Had it hard, this kid." Steve said absently, watching a clip of security camera footage where the girl was sitting in a public library, stacks of math work around her.

Romanoff gave a hum of semi-agreement, turning back and forth slightly in her spinning chair. "It's actually amazing that she managed to stay off S.H.I.E.L.D radar, considering how often she's been near a police… situation."

"She's right," Stark said, finally looking away from the computer, "S.H.I.E.L.D has devices to pick up readings from gifted individuals, and none have shown up until the invasion."

"Maybe it was latent —as in, it was only activated when she really needed to defend herself?" Suggested Steve.

"That's a possibility," said a voice from the door.

Steve jumped off his chair and to his feet —it was Nick Fury.

"Should I even ask how the hell you got in?" Stark muttered, sounding frustrated.

"Another possibility," Fury continued, ignoring Stark completely, "is that the girl's been on the Index since she was two, and a suggestion for a participant in the Avengers Initiative, but her records were hidden."

There was utter silence in the room except for the soft beeping of the computer.

"I was unaware of her." Romanoff spoke quietly, in a dangerous voice.

"Yes." Fury said simply. "But I was also unaware of her until three years ago."

Steve raised his eyebrows in an invitation to continue, Stark, who had also jumped up, sat down slowly, and Romanoff rested her elbow on a side table.

"Occasionally," Fury said slowly, taking another step into the room, "one of my high ranking agents decide to keep secrets from me. One of the most common perpetrators was Agent Coulson. He had handled many gifted individuals in his service, and was very good at gauging their threat level. About thirteen years ago now, he and an Agent May were investigating the death of a field agent at the hand of the Triad, in New York, when he came across a guy who knew something. Guy named Ellot Harrison." He gave a significant look at the screen behind them. "Now, Mr. Harrison owned an auto repair store, and had a lotta friends in all sorts of places. So Mr. Harrison tells Coulson that he'll tell him everything he needs to know, as long as his niece's daughter gets protection. See, Mr. Harrison knew what kinda agent Coulson was, and knew what we do with threatening individuals, so he wanted to protect this girl. Naturally, Coulson goes to check it out, and finds a tiny baby girl who can set the curtains on fire by sneezing." (Steve snorted, and Fury gave a wry grin.) "He was apparently pretty desperate, 'cause he agreed, got his information, and got out. He listed her on the Index with a series of complex codes so no one could see her unless there was a report of damaged cause by her, and from then on, he kept his promise, and anytime S.H.I.E.L.D caught wind of the kid, he'd cover it up. When Mr. Harrison died three years ago, Coulson went to check on the girl, and I finally figured out what he'd been up to. I looked through her files and decided to put her on the list for the original Avengers Initiative."

Fury finished with a sigh and spread his hands unapologetically.

The room was again quiet for a minute.

"So…" Steve said tentatively, "What do we do now that she's displayed her power?"

"Well," Fury grunted, taking another step forward. "I wanna talk to her. Test her. If the display in New York was anything to go by, she's powerful, and willing to fight for a good cause. The Avengers Initiative has been enacted —might as well go through with it."

"I'm coming then." Romanoff snapped back immediately.

"Fine." Fury said, before looking expectantly at Steve. "You?"

"I'll come."

"Good. Best to have a friendly face on this kinda thing."

With a scowl, Steve said, "You said there was a file —...can we see it?"

Fury opened his typical trench jacket, pulled out a thin file, and tossed it Frisbee-style to him. "Let's go."

"Now?" Said Steve, surprised.

Without responding, Fury turned and walked out of the room, Romanoff closely following. Sighing, Steve opened the file and walked after them.

"Hey!" Called Stark. "I'm still here —I have input! I'm -"

Steve closed the door absently.

0 0 0

It was a very narrow, run down street that they finally stopped the car on. The steady rain that was finally falling on the city after the invasion made it even more dreary. They pulled around a corner with a dirty parking lot and a 7-11, and parked next to the dumpster. One side had mostly commercial places, garages, and the backside of an old warehouse, while the other held a row of two-story town houses, so close to the street that it seemed as if the block was leaning over. Each window had heavy iron bars or some sort of boarding, and the trash bins didn't look like they'd been collected in years. Steve, who was sitting awkwardly in the back seat of the car, glanced up and down the street, checking for threats. There were eight cars —three on the street, five in the parking lot —two men smoking by the dumpster, and a graffiti-ed white truck being unloaded into the warehouse by three women and another man.

He got out of the car slowly, feeling insecure leaving his shield hidden under a seat, even though he could feel his tranquilizer pistol against his leg. Feeling exposed, he pulled his rain jacket closer and lowered the brim of his baseball hat. The workers unloading the truck watched as he followed Fury and Romanoff across the street to a house labeled 'Block 22'.

"You first." Fury invited sarcastically.

Steve walked around the other two, up the three concrete steps, opened the ripped screen door, and knocked three times.

Almost immediately, there came a vicious barking of what sounded to be a rather big dog. There was scrabbling of claws at the door, a crash, footsteps, and then a voice saying, "Shuddup Dipshit! You'll wake up her up."

He could hear the dog whining, and it's paws scraping on the floor as it was presumably pulled back from the door. It opened, and the thin face of the girl appeared in the crack of the doorway.

"Sorry," she said, still looking down at the dog, "he's not that bad -" She looked up, saw his face, and stopped dead.

Her mouth clearly formed the words 'holy shit', but no sound came out.

"Ms. Ayana Harrison?" Steve said in a practiced military voice, giving her a tight smile. "We'd like to speak to you."

"Are you -" she stopped and opened the door wider to look out.

Steve watched her eyes take in Romanoff, Fury, and their car, then scan up and down the street. She opened the door wider, hand still on the huge dog's collar.

"We just had a fed' check a few weeks ago." She said loudly, still watching Fury and Romanoff suspiciously. "Why d'you need to come again?"

Steve's lip quirked towards a real smile. "We just wanna ask you some questions."

"You come in then?" She asked, obviously knowing the answer.

"If you wouldn't mind."

With a nod and a grunt, she pulled the dog back and opened the door all the way, leaning against it to allow Steve in. Romanoff followed, then Fury.

"Sorry." She said again, glancing around at them awkwardly. "I'd've cleaned up."

The dog growled as Romanoff shook out an umbrella in the doorway, and Steve looked at it again —it looked at least part pit bull —it's ears and tail had been cropped, it had scars on its muzzle and chest, and it seemed to be missing the end of one of its hind legs.

"What kinda dog is it?" He asked, trying to speak soothingly.

"No idea." She loosened her grip on its collar. "He was a fighter I found a few years ago . He's an idiot —I think he got hit 'round the head to many times."

Steve was about to reply —with what, he didn't know —but Fury spoke first. "Is your parent or guardian here?"

The girl looked at him, then quickly looked at the floor under his intense gaze. "She's sleepin'."

"Well, it's you we wanna talk to anyway." He glanced around. "Is there anywhere we can sit down?"

"Yessir. This way." She led the way down the narrow hall, followed by Romanoff and Fury.

Steve stayed back and looked around for a minute. The entryway was mostly filled with a set of badly carpeted stairs leading to the second floor, but also had a rusted bike crammed into a corner, a long heavy leash, and two overflowing bags of laundry. Apart from the fact that the stairs didn't look like they'd been vacuumed recently, it was relatively clean —the peeling linoleum floor was swept, the faded walls were bare, and the the pairs of shoes piled behind the door were somewhat organized.

Walking down the small hallway, he had to duck his head to go through the doorway into the living room. He felt too big for the house. The living room was also relatively clean, but it was very dark —the only light slipped through the barred window —and the scant furniture was well worn.

The girl (Ayana Harrison, Steve reminded himself) was standing uncertainty by another doorway to the kitchen, where a crackling radio was playing the news, and he now noticed that she was obviously favoring her left leg. Fury was looking around at the nearly empty room, and Romanoff was sitting calmly in one of the striped armchairs, apparently establishing her dominance.

"... I'll turn it off —one sec'." Said the girl.

Steve watched closely as she suppressed her limp and walked into the kitchen; she was obviously in pain, and it looked as if she were finding it hard to breath. The radio turned off with a screech from the tuner.

She reappeared, somehow looking even more scared that before.

"Please," said Fury commandingly, "let's sit down."

They sat —Romanoff in one chair, the girl in another, with Fury on the opposite side of the squat couch from Steve. The dog settled itself next to the girl, giving a grunting sigh as it lay down.

"I am Director Nick Fury, of S.H.I.E.L.D, this -" he indicated Romanoff, "is Agent Natasha Romanoff, also known as the Black Widow. And, as you probably know, Captain Steve Rogers, or Captain America."

The girl glanced at each person as they were indicated.

"Can you confirm that you are Ms. Ayana Grace Harrison?" Fury asked, looking directly at her.

"Yessir." she muttered, "'Go by Ana, though."

"Agent Romanoff?" He prompted.

"Ms. Harrison," she began tightly, "I believe you know why we're here. We'd like to ask you some questions about your abilities. But first, I'd like to ask: were you injured during the invasion?"

"I'm fine, ma'am." The girl said quietly.

Romanoff breathed out sharply and spoke in a clipped voice, "It would be best if you were honest. I'll rephrase: please list your injuries."

The girl looked at her knees. "It really wasn't bad. I've had a concussion before —I stayed awake for the night, checked my eyes an' all that. I might've pulled something in my leg, I gotta handful of cuts an' scrapes… and a twisted ankle." she added as an afterthought.

Romanoff, who had taken out a pad of paper and a a pen, scribbled down a list in what looked like Russian —it was hard to tell from a sideways angle that Steve was at.

"We'll have someone patch you up." Romanoff said shortly.

The girl (Harrison! Steve reminded himself) looked as if she was about to object, but Romanoff continued, obviously going through a protocol list of questions in her head. "You have confirmed that you are in fact Ayana Harrison —can you confirm that you are fourteen years of age?"

Harrison looked up, and Steve realized that she was indeed much younger than he had thought. It was something about the jaded look behind her pale eyes, combined with the drawn look on her face that made her seem older.

"Almost fifteen." she said, voice firm but quiet.

"Your legal guardian is Lucietta Harrison nee Freeman?"

"Yeah."

Romanoff continued with a frown, "Mother —Gracie Rose Harrison, deceased?"

Steve felt some sense of embarrassment, or sympathy for the girl —or maybe it was a stab of painful resonance with her, but either way, he glanced out the window so as not to look at her.

Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Yeah," again.

"Your father is unlisted." Stated Romanoff, and Steve almost heard pity in her voice.

This time, Harrison just nodded, now also looking out the window.

Romanoff flipped to an new page before looking back at the girl and asking, "Are you aware of any of his identity? Perhaps it could correspond with you abilities?"

"No ma'am. He was white, but I dunno anything else about him —my mom didn't talk about it at all." she said, fidgeting with her faded t-shirt.

"Can you pinpoint when you began exhibiting unnatural abilities?" Romanoff prompted.

Harrison screwed up her face, obviously thinking seriously. "Since I was a baby. My uncle use'ta tell a story about the curtains catching on fire when I sneezed —when I was, like, two or three."

Fury, who had been frowning intensely at the girl in thought, nodded absently.

"Is there a specific time when you exhibit these powers, or are you in control of them?"

The girl glanced out the window as a car passed, looking nervous again. "It used to only happen when I was really angry, or scared. But it scared me even more, and so I... stopped doing it."

Steve tilted his head in confusion. How was that possible?

"You… stopped?" Questioned Romanoff. "You were obviously exhibiting abilities during the invasion."

"I stopped getting angry." the girl said, glancing out the window again. "Couldn't really help with being scared though."

There was a jolt in his stomach as Steve realized what she was implying.

"What you're saying," he said quietly, and she looked taken aback that he was talking to her again, "is that by suppressing your emotions, you suppressed your power?"

She frowned. "I guess."

"And," Steve continued, ignoring Fury's warning look, "when the Chitauri attacked your school, the anger came back, and you could throw fire at things?"

"Not really…" she muttered, not meeting his eyes. "At first, I was just so angry —and… and I just wanted to tear them up. But then, I knocked that thing out of the sky and… I got scared again, and it went away. But I looked up and saw you, and you said I could help protect people…" (Steve could tell she was flushing hotly) "'Said I could protect something other than my school. And I wanted that, a lot, and the fire came back."

Romanoff was writing furiously, but other than that, it was silent in the dingy room for a minute.

"You wanna protect people, kid?" Fury said gruffly.

"I wanna try." She said, in barely a whisper. "I never thought I could help people —never thought I could help myself… but I want to."

Romanoff waited a moment to finish writing before asking, "Would you consent to a test? Of your abilities?"

"Like with a doctor?" Harrison sounded terrified.

"Not if you didn't want to."

The girl pulled at her shirt more, and glanced out the window again. "What kinda test then?"

"A simple assessment." Romanoff replied, almost soothingly.

The woman placed her pen on the pad, and tapped on the side twice with her index finger. Steve frowned and squinted slightly as two tiny, barely noticeable indents seemed to hit the girl's shirt.

"As long as there's no doctors." Harrison clarified.

"Good -"

A phone buzzed, and Fury withdrew his from his pocket. He looked at the screen for a moment, glanced at Romanoff, and said, "Excuse me a sec'."

He stood up and walked into the hall.

Romanoff watched him leave, then turned to the girl again, spinning her pen in her hand. "You would consent to a test of your abilities if it didn't require any medical procedure?"

Harrison looked briefly at Steve, obviously unsure. She nodded slowly.

"Perfect." Romanoff wrote something quickly, then placed the notepad on the arm of the chair where the girl could just see it, and continued to twiddle the pen, spinning it, then tapping the side twice again —the girl flinched and rubbed at her eye.

"To continue about your control of your power," Romanoff continued, apparently oblivious, "you said that determination made 'the fire come back' —were you in total control of it during the battle?"

"Uh…" Said Harrison, still rubbing at her right eye, and looking at the notepad —she didn't seem to understand it until her eyes landed on something at the bottom of the page. "I mean, I didn't really know what to do. It just sorta happened —like, the aliens were running at me, and I knew that I wanted them to stop, so I lit 'em up." She glanced up at Romanoff as she finished her explanation, looking for approval.

Steve shifted in his seat —he didn't like to sit for this long —and he could tell that Romanoff and Fury were taking the 'consent to a test as long it wasn't medical' literally.

Harrison's eyes were back on the notepad, and her forehead was furrowed slightly, lips moving soundlessly. Romanoff was watching her carefully —this was obviously part of the test, Steve thought.

They all looked up sharply as Fury came back in, his face twisted into a slight scowl. He sat heavily on the couch, making the dog growl.

Looking at the girl, he squinted at her thoughtfully. "I'll be honest kid —we don't need to ask you many questions —we got files on you, seen your school records. We know a lot, except for your apparent pyrokinesis." He leant forward, clasping his hands in front of him. "You're a smart kid —we know that —but I'm gonna say somethin' and your gonna follow directions. ...I just got a call tellin' me that one of my equals has decided to bring you in —in his own way." (Steve gave an involuntary twitch of surprise) "In about two minutes, we're gonna up and leave, and from that time you'll have about forty-five minutes 'til they get here. You need to leave your aunt and you dog here and get out. You hide, get out of the city —doesn't matter. We'll clear the situation up, and then we'll find you. Got it?"

The girl's mouth was hanging open, and Steve, who hadn't expected anything this extreme, could easily understand.

Fury and Romanoff got up, followed by Steve more slowly. "It's been good talking to you." Said Fury, voice light and completely different from how he'd just spoken.

He took Harrison's hand and shook it —she had stood up too —but the girl seemed to still be in shock. Romanoff nodded curtly and led the way out of the room. As Fury followed, Steve looked Harrison in the eyes.

Lips barely moving, he muttered, "Don't trust anyone. Things that say they're S.H.I.E.L.D may not really be."

She finally managed to whisper, "Why is this happening?"

Steve had to look away from her eyes again. "Less than two months ago, I was flying a plane into ice to stop the world from being blown up by a crazy Hydra-Nazi, then I woke up to find myself sixty-something years in the future and being told the war's over. Then, we fought some aliens." He looked at her earnestly. "I don't know, but I'm sorry."

He could feel her eyes on him as he forced himself to leave the house without looking back at the kid. However, the moment he was sat in the backseat of the black government-issue car, he hissed, "What the hell, Fury?"

"It's a test." The man said simply, stepping on the gas.

"I got that much, believe it or not." He snapped, anger growing. "When I said I'd join S.H.I.E.L.D, I thought I'd be fighting battles —protecting people —not terrifying kids half to death!"

"She said," Romanoff practically sang, "she didn't want doctors testing her. She got her wish."

"This —this can't be protocol." Steve insisted.

"It is." Fury growled, speeding up and taking a sharp turn.

"It isn't what Pe-" he stopped himself. He had almost said 'this isn't what Peggy would have wanted', but did he really know what she wanted? She had carried on her life —had changed, and when he had gone to visit her, she had only had moments of clarity. No —Steve was certain this wasn't what she would want, but it was something she would do, if the situation called for it.

"Where are we going, anyway?" he said instead.

"Here will do." said Fury, pulling into the ramped entrance of a multi-level parking garage.

They swung up and around each level until they reached the roof —there wasn't many cars up here, as there wasn't any protection against the rain. With a slight skid of the tires, they pulled into an obnoxious parking job —taking up part of two spaces. Steve frowned as he watched Romanoff retrieve a boxy laptop computer from the gove box and boot it up. Her hands flew across the keys, and two black frames popped up with the words 'CONNECTING' and a loading sign in each one. With and electronic ping, the right frame turned into a blurry video of a familiar living room, and slowly clarified, so that Steve could see that there was some sort of moving recording device in the house they had just left. The other frame turned into a stereo volume line, and began to play back a rustling noise, a clang, and then an exclaimed curse.

The camera angled down, and a pair of hands hastily stuffing a sweatshirt into a backpack could be seen —almost as if they were looking through someone's eyes —someone with thin, dark, bruised hands.

"So you shot a camera into her eye." Steve said, managing to sound deadpan.

"...And an audio recorder and tracker onto her shirt." muttered Romanoff, setting the computer carefully onto the dash of the car so that they could all watch.

Harrison was muttering to herself indecipherably, and almost randomly shoving items into her bag. She finished by dropping a cheap looking smartphone into one of the inner pockets, and swung the bag out of view, presumably onto her back. Rushing into the kitchen, she produced a key from her pocket and hastily locked the thin wooden back door, before systematically checking each of the first floor windows. Steve couldn't help being impressed —it was almost as if she had done this before.

0 0 0

Ana left the house quickly, locking the front door as well, after whispering reassurance to Dip. Slipping her keys back into her pocket, she muttered a prayer that Ms. Taysha was home. She knocked desperately on the door of the next house over, and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard someone on the other side. Her eye still hurt, and she was absently rubbing it as the kind, wide face of her neighbor opened the door.

"Hey hunny," the woman said, opening the door wider, "What's the matter?"

Ana's terror must've shown on her face, and she didn't bother trying to hide it. "I gotta get outa here for a little while. I dunno how long I'll be gone, but I gotta leave Auntie and Dip at home."

"You got in trouble?" The woman said, face hardening.

Ana fidgeted —she could hear sirens a few blocks away. "Kinda. I'll get you some cash —but I really gotta go."

"Come home safe." Taysha instructed.

"Thanks, Ms. Taysha. If anybody comes askin' for me-" she though for a second, "—say I went to the store an' didn't come back."

The older woman's face crumpled in worry, but she nodded.

The sirens were getting closer, and with a last half glance over her shoulder, Ana headed down the street towards the bus stop. Walking quickly, she swung her backpack halfway over her shoulder and grappled her hoodie out —the rain was falling harder and she was already wet.

She looked up sharply as she realized that the sirens were coming from the direction she was headed, and froze. As discreetly as she could, she turned and walked the opposite way, muttering to herself, "'Forty-five minutes' he said —I call bullshit."

Reaching the opposite end of the street she crossed behind the unloading truck, nodding at one of the workers, and walked down the sidewalk next to the faded brick walls of the old warehouse. She could hear the sirens still —she wasn't entirely sure they were for her, but she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder every minute or so. There was a police car behind her, she could hear it —practically feel the specialized tires gripping the crumbling pavement. She continued walking, moving hastily towards the nearest alley, only glancing at the police car in feigned disinterest. It passed with a slick splash of rainwater.

Ana watched as it disappeared around the corner at the end if the block, and pulled her hood up further, tucking her hair into it as well. Glancing around, she noticed that there wasn't anyone around —which wasn't really surprising, as it was raining, and it was a nothing street with only a few residential places. Still, she felt self-conscious, as though she was so unnoticeable she was noticeable; wearing black leggings, worn Adidas', an over sized zip-up hoodie, and a backpack over one shoulder, walking alone, in the rain.

There was another car approaching from behind her, and she glanced back to see a large, black SUV with an insignia on the side that she couldn't make out. Walking faster, Ana could feel a sickening tingle spread up her stomach and into the back of her throat. From the other end of the street, a second, identical car turned the corner and sped up, headed directly at her. With another glance over her should, she broke into a run and dove into the alley she'd been aiming for, hissing as she hit her shoulder on the dumpster. Her leg was still stabbing with pain (she hadn't been entirely honest with the Black Widow lady) and her equivalent of a run was a quick, awkward jog.

Through the muffling rain, she could hear tires screeching, doors opening and slamming, and then a clicking sound she'd only heard once before —the loading and reading of a semi-automatic gun. She sped up, running full out, gasping with pain every time her right foot hit the pavement. There was a series of ringing shots just as she flung herself around the brick wall of a boarded up grocery store, and she almost screamed as a slew of bullets kicked up gravel and water as they hit the ground and walls protecting her. Without thinking, she sprinted —running as hard as she could on the narrow sidewalk, dodging bent signposts, trash cans, and puddles.

Every time Ana glanced over her shoulder, she tripped, but more of the black cars were serving down the street after her. Her right foot, already sprained, landed in a dent, twisted to the side and gave a sickening snap. She sprawled onto the painful ground, palms catching her before her chin hit, but not saving her knees, elbows, or hands. Scrambling to her feet, she could feel grit clinging onto her wet and bloody hands, but she managed to stumble into the narrow alley between two warehouses and stuff herself between the wall and a dumpster.

With her butt on the soaking ground, one knee to her chin, the other stuck out awkwardly, breath coming in stabbing gasps, and hands shaking, she waited for the feds to find her. Their cars continued, only one slowing down at the entrance to the alley. Two men jumped out, dressed all in black, both with a huge gun in their hands, and started down the alley.

Ana pressed a stinging, bleeding hand over her mouth and nose, and tried to stop trembling; she couldn't make any noise. One, then two shadows flitted across the gap between the dumpster and the wall, and they were past. She still didn't move, instead, she closed her eyes and pressed her palms against them, waiting until car doors slammed, tires screeched, and the car pulled away.

Dragging her hands away from her eyes, Ana wiped them on her leggings, which made her hiss through her teeth and shudder. Without getting up, she wriggled her backpack our from behind her and opened it, fishing for her phone.

Her hands wouldn't stop shaking as she typed in her password (2-4-2-7), and opened her messages, scrolling down until her thumb landed on 'Dion'. Tapping on the chat, she typed as quickly as she could,

need help

cashing in a favor

She chewed on her nail as she waited to respond. The loading sign popped up on the other side of the screen and two text bubbles appeared.

that bad?

what is it?

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Ana replied,

pick me up, i got in trouble

?

people after me kinda trouble

shit girl

what'd u do?

doesnt matter

im behind the old grocery store near my street

k im in the gray car

Ana pressed her phone against her chest. She hadn't wanted to get Dion involved in anything after the last time he'd bailed her out, but he was the nearest, and the person she trusted the most. Dion Jefferson was a guy a few years older than her with buzzed short hair, a scar on his cheek, and a dad who happened to be Mr. Jefferson, the Guy in Charge —of what, Ana wasn't sure, and she wasn't about to ask —and he owed her for the two times she'd saved his life. The first time was when Ana still went to the public school, and Dion'd gotten into a fight; everything was fine at first, with Dion beating Aaron Kena into the ground, but pretty soon, the crowd got wild, and some of Kena's friends swung it the other way. Ana had slipped away from the crowd, and then pretended to run back, shouting, "Cops! There's cops 'round the block!"

The mob split up enough for Dion to get out, and a siren wailed conveniently, so Ana got away with it, and Dion got away with a fractured rib, a black eye, and a switchblade cut on his cheek and shoulder.

The second time, Ana was thirteen, getting off the bus outside the apartment block Dion lived in at ten o'clock. When she looked up, she saw him hanging off the fire escape, desperately motioning for her to not say anything. Looking around, she noticed cop cars parked around the corner, and could hear yelling and crashing from the open apartment window —it was a seemingly unwarranted drug raid. Dion had climbed out the window, slipped, and caught himself on the fire escape, just as Ana got off. He was very lucky she was the only one at that stop, and also very lucky that she was a quick thinker: she grabbed the bottom of the fire escape and pulled, making it fold down while the counter weight went up, right under Dion's dangling feet. He was able to push himself up, then climb down the fire escape.

Ana distinctly remembered him saying, "Tha's two times you save my life now —I owe you."

She'd already used one favor, but she was sure it was valid enough to use one now, hiding behind a dumpster from a secret federal agency.

Unfolding herself, Ana wriggled out of her hiding spot and dragged herself to an overturned crate to sit down on. If felt like forever that she waited, but Dion only lived a short while away, and it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes before his beat up silver Toyota stopped across the street. It had multiple patches, gashes, mix-matched tires, and a spoiler that Ana's uncle had fixed it with; there was duct tape across the back window, and the mirrors were cracked, but it was a fast car. Ana limped across the street, looking around cautiously for the black cars, yanked open the passenger door, and slid in.

Dion began to ask, "What the hell h-" but Ana interrupted, "Drive. Just fucking drive."

Pushing her backpack into the space below her feet, she twisted around to look behind them as Dion stepped on the gas.

"Where we goin'?" he asked, sounding a mixture of exasperated and worried.

"Gotta get out of the city —they said they'd get me once the feds were off my tail." Ana said quickly, checking over her other shoulder.

Dion glanced at her, swerving around a pothole. "Wha—who is 'they'? Who'd you get in trouble with?"

Ana sighed, shaking her head, and remembering to put the seatbelt on. "I don'know —well, I guess I do. You know that S.H.I.E.L.D agency tha's on the news right now?" Dion gave her an incredulous look, "Yeah —the spy one."

"The fuck did you do?" he demanded.

"When the invasion started, I might'a caught something on fire." Ana muttered.

He almost jerked the car into a phone poll. "You mean… you mean with the freaky thing?"

Dion Jefferson happened to be the only living person to know about her odd ability.

"Yeah."

"Shit…"

"Yeah." Ana sighed.

"So we really gotta get out of the city." He glanced at her again.

"Mh-hm."

Ana couldn't bring herself to look at Dion anymore, so she examined her hands. They were stinging in a numbing way, but had stopped bleeding, so that was a plus. Her leggings were ripped on the left knee though, and her sneakers were utterly ruined.

She was suddenly aware that she couldn't breathe properly. Taking deep, gasping breaths, she covered her eyes with her fists and tried to stop the tears from coming out —it didn't work very well, and she pulled her relatively undamaged left leg up onto the seat and hugged herself.

"Oh, no…" came Dion's voice, sounding funnily muffled, "You can't freak out, come on Ayana —don't freak out… things'll catch on fire again!"

She could feel his hand on the back of her head, and tried to focus on that —one, solid thing that she could feel. Her chest was fluttering rapidly, her knees were still oozing with blood, but she couldn't feel anything except her pulse, Dion's hand, and a wild terror in her throat.

Slowly, the farther they drove, the more her panic faded, and as they pulled up the ramp onto the highway, now just outside of the city, Ana was able to lean her head against the seat and breath again. Pressing her hand against her chest, she let the tingling warmth that came before the fire to ring around her fingers.

"Ayana!" Dion yelped,

Ana looked down to see that the area around her hand, both in the air and on her chest, was glowing a familiar purple hue. She flexed her fingers and closed her fist, and the glow faded.

"That's so freaky…" muttered Dion, eyes determinedly on the road.

"...Sorry." Ana whispered.

They were silent for a minute, until Dion asked slowly, "Who're the people 'sposed to pick you up?"

"Uh…" Ana glanced at him, wondering how he'd take it if she told him that Captain America had been in her house. "Some friends."

Dion frowned at her. "What kinda friends? Friend friends, or jus' people you trust?"

"Not friends… there's only one I kinda trust." Ana tilted her head, remembering the battle, and how she had stood back-to-back with a man she barely knew. "He's a good guy."

"He?" Exclaimed Dion. "You got one person you trust, and it's some guy?"

Ana scowled. "I got one person I actually trust, and it's you, shithead."

Dion shook his head, incredulous. "You're gonna get yourself killed an' make me bury you."

"I'll survive," she muttered, "Somehow I always do."

Still shaking his head, Dion switched lanes, looking in the rearview mirror. He squinted, rolling down the window to adjust the mirror, then said, "Don't freak out… but what kinda cars did those spy people have?"

Ana spun around, kneeling on her seat, and looked through the cracked back windshield —three black cars were weaving their way through the mild early afternoon rainy day traffic. "Ooh… shit."

"That's what I thought." Muttered Dion.

He sped up and swerved around the PENSKE rental truck in front of them, muttering to himself about crazy kids who got chased by spies.

Ana rolled down her window and watched the mirror as the first black car sped up as well, moving to the outer lane. The other two cars followed up behind, trapping them in an 'L' formation.

"Take the exit!" She screamed over the rushing of the air past the open windows.

Dion, who was repetitively checking over his shoulder yelled back, "That's what they want us to do!"

Water was spattering in, and the windshield wipers were flinging back and forth —in short, the visibility was getting worse. The black cars were closing in, pinning them from the back and driver's side of the car —Dion swerved to take the exit, and the pursuers sped up, but to Ana's surprise, Dion bellowed, "Hold on!" and swerved the car. They jumped the patch of grass separating the exit ramp from the highway, landed with a squealing of tires, and accelerated.

"Are —you —crazy?!" shrieked Ana.

"They gonna take you in an' experiment on you? Over my dead body." Snapped Dion.

She stared at him —this really wasn't what she'd expected when she woke up that morning. School was supposed to be opening again tomorrow, the shelter had enough food again, and everything was looking up. Then, two superheroes and a secret government guy had shown up at her door, interrogated her, and then practically sent people after her. She hadn't been thinking when she'd texted Dion, he just seemed like the most obvious person who would help, but now she was wondering, what was the extent of a repaid debt?

Ana leaned forward and pressed her forearms against the dash, staring ahead at the grey road with a mixture of red and yellow taillights bleeding through. She glanced at Dion again to see a look of sheer anger and determination on his face, then turned to see where the black cars were —catching up, weaving through the unfortunately scant traffic.

Dion was obviously also noticing this, because he sped up even more, switching to the fast lane. "Ayana," he said, voice forcibly calm, "under your seat, there's a box with a gun in it. Get it out and load it."

The words didn't really register at first, but after a moment, Ana closed her eyes and bit her tongue. "When this is all over, I'm gonna fucking kill you. You keep a gun under —d'you know the chances of getting pulled over?!"

Without looking away from the road, Dion muttered, "Get it, Ana."

She bent over, shoving her backpack out of the way, and reached under the seat until her hands landed on a heavy box not longer than a foot. She pulled it out and snapped off the metal clasp, opening it to find a Glock pistol, two clips, three magazines, a wad of cash, and a knuckle duster.

"...Shit, Dion." She muttered, picking up the gun and a full magazine.

Theoretically, she knew how to load a gun —she'd seen it done a few times, but it was a bit harder in real life. The gun was heavy in her hand, and it took a moment for her to figure out how to pull out the magazine and snap the slide back. With fumbling hands she loaded the magazine and let the side click back into place.

"You don't actually want me to shoot this, do you?" She asked, dreading the answer.

The the rain let up suddenly as they went under an overpass, then slammed back against the windshield as they came out, and a second later, a louder thunk came from directly above them. Dion swerved slightly and yelled in surprise; the tires screeched and he grabbed the steering wheel aggressively, pulling the car right.

"I think you're gonna have to!" He replied, gunning the car even harder —trying the shake whatever had just hit the car.

Ana let out a slight whimper as she switched off the safety and shifted in her seat so she was sat on her knees. There was a horrifying ripping sound, the car tilted slightly to the right, and Ana spun in her seat, gun raised in trembling hands, to see a red and silver rounded edge finish cutting through the duct tape on the back window. The car tilted again, and a person flung themselves through the window feet first. Instinctively, her hand squeezed the trigger, gun aimed in between the front seats; there was a metallic clang, and an explosion of glass as the other back window shattered outwards.

Dion let out a slew of curses, Ana screamed, and the person in the back seat said (rather calmly, considering the situation), "You really shouldn't shoot in contained spaces."

Ana's eyes widened, and she breathed "Holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck," under her breath a few times as Dion continued to yell, trying to look over his shoulder at the back seat and drive at the same time. Sitting with his legs curled up and shield in front of him was Captain America, still dressed in civilian clothes.

Her terror, adrenaline, and building annoyance made her mouth open. "Are you kidding? When Mr Fury said someone would pick me up, I wasn't thinking you'd jump on a car and fuck up Dion's window!" she exclaimed.

Captain America raised his eyebrows, face appearing above his shield, and his mouth quirked slightly. Ana realized what she had just said to who, and her eyes widened even further.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" she began, but the man interrupted her.

"It's fine," he said quickly, "I'd be scared too." He waved his hand and shifted his position to sit properly with his shield still balanced on his knees in a slightly defensive position.

Dion, who had finally stopped yelling and subsided into wordless shock, made an odd croaking noise, staring into the mirror to see the back seat. "Ayana…" he said slowly, "if that's who I think it is I'm gonna—why is that guy in my back seat?"

Ana didn't respond, and instead stared at the said man, before closing her eyes and wondering suddenly if she was on drugs.

"Well," said Captain America tightly, "You're going way out in the wrong direction, so we had to get to you somehow." When neither of the two in the front managed to do anything more than mouth silently, he added, "Take the exit after this one."

A thought occurred to Ana, and she managed to speak again. "How'd I know you're the same guy?"

The man's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Are you the same guy who helped me during the invasion?" She asked more demandingly, snapping the slide back and cocking the gun again.

"Yeah, I am —I'm Steve Rogers… Captain America." His face was screwed up in what seemed to be worry. "Put the gun down, kid -"

"Not 'til you prove you're him!" Ana said insistently, voice trembling slightly.

Frowning in thought, he hesitated then said, "During the battle—I got pinned up against the wall, and you caught it on fire." Ana still hesitated, keeping the gun aimed at him, and he added slowly, "...You punched an alien in the gut and told me to help Romanoff."

Ana let the gun down slowly, still pointed at him. "I just… I just had to make sure." She looked down, closing her eyes again. "You said not to trust things that looked like S.H.I.E.L.D."

Glancing back up at him from behind her hair, his face held an unreadable expression.

"Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?!" Dion exclaimed.

Ana looked at her friend. "Uh…"

The man in the back seat pulled a phone from his back pocket and typed something behind his shield. There was a ding, and he looked up and said, "Ah—no."

"No?!" said Dion incredulously.

There was another ding, and Captain America added, "Take the exit, pull into the garage, and drive into the white truck. You'll be taken in for a debriefing, kid, and Ms. Harrison will be safe with us." He didn't sound particularly happy about this, but read the orders monotonously.

"Hell no!" Dion exclaimed swerving around and looking over his shoulder at the man, "Y'all aren't gonna take her in. If you would kindly jump back out'a my car, I'd be real -"

"We can take automated control of your car if you don't wanna follow directions. Sorry, kid." the man said tiredly.

Ana sat down slowly, finally resting her injured foot on her bag, still in shock and disbelief, staring at the large man in the back of the car. Now that she was actually looking at him, he seemed much younger than he did when he was fighting - he had an open face with only a bit of stubble around his jaw, and a wrinkle between his eyebrows that looked premature. Really, he just looked tired, with indents under his eyes and a rather creased button-up shirt.

"Am I on drugs?" she muttered to herself.

"If you are, so'm I." replied Dion, still driving distractedly.

There was a long, awkward pause as they took the exit they were instructed to (though Dion looked murderous), but Ana was surprised to note that the black cars had fallen back—she supposed that the Director Fury guy had managed to get them off their tail.

"Aren't people 'sposed to wear 'seat-belts' nowadays?" The man in the back asked quietly.

Ana blinked and almost laughed, but decided not to immediately. She shifted in her seat and rebuckled her seat-belt, rolling up the window as well. Most of her right side was soaked, and she shivered suddenly—she hated water.

"Can I ask where we're goin'?" Dion tried, voice sarcastic.

"Uh…" the man looked at his phone, "Yeah. We're headed to Headquarters."

Dion scowled deeper. "And we're not gonna know where that is? What it is?"

"...No." he said decisively after a moment. Indicating an huge, empty parking lot, he added, "Take a turn here."

Dion swung the car into the lot, driving carelessly through the empty spaces. "You said a white truck?"

The was in fact a large, white, unmarked truck with its ramp down parked next to a familiar government issue car. They pulled to a stop in front of the ramp, and Dion looked around, frustrated and confused. Ana's eyes landed on the two figures just inside the truck, a muscular woman with her hand on her hip, and a man wearing a long coat—the Black Widow and the Fury man.

Captain America unfolded himself from the back seat and got out, meeting the two people as they exited the truck. He said something in a low voice to Fury, and they had a indistinct conversation that the woman listened to for a moment before heaving a sigh and walking to the driver's side of the car. Tapping on the window, she said assertively, "You'll want to pull into the truck."

Dion stared at her for a second, then looked at Ana, now seeming at a loss. Ana sighed. "Just do what they want."

The car reved for a moment before making it up the steep ramp and into the truck. There was just enough room for them to open the doors and get out—well, Dion got out—Ana tried to stand and found with a surprised yelp that she couldn't. Her damaged leg gave out under her with a burst of pain so intense that she could feel it in the back of her head. She just managed to catch herself on the wall of the truck, and took a deep breath, leaning against the cool metal.

There was an arm wrapped around her elbow, pulling her upright, and when Ana looked up, she was startled to see red hair and intense eyes. Furrowing her brow in confusion, she muttered, "I'm fine."

"Mh-hm." the woman said doubtfully.

Ana found herself being helped down from the truck, and vaguely heard the woman's slightly raspy voice raised to yell, "Stop arguing, boys—it's not over 'til the girl's at Headquarters!"

And then, there was more people around her; Dion, insisting that they couldn't take her and that she needed the hospital, the tall man, speaking quietly to her, and the other man, talking authoritatively.

"What hurts?" said the tall man, in his rounded voice.

Ana looked around sightlessly, feeling trapped, and said something that might have been "Everything."

The people were talking more—an amazing amount of noise, Ana thought.

"She's going into shock."

"—I don't blame her."

"... passed the test—"

"—of course…"

"—you can't take her! No! I won't let—"

"—experiment on her…"

Everything was an odd, confusing murmur that didn't quite make it to her brain.

The woman, who was still supporting her, shifted, and all of a sudden, Ana was being carried. Someone was yelling, protesting, and grabbing at her arms, others were speaking, a car door was opened, and she was finally laid down on the seat of a sickeningly new-smelling car.

They began to move at some point, and a blanket was put over her that smelled nice and she began to feel warm again. But every time her mind managed to start down the road to sleep, her leg gave a stabbing start of pain, and a groan would leave her throat. She opened her eyes for a moment to see the nondescript roof of the car and the edge of the dark windows, and promptly passed out.


End file.
